NASHVILLE, Tenn. Dale Sveum was hunting for quail in Arizona when Robin Yount lost sight of his buddy about 50 yards up on a hill. The Hall of Famer shot the bird and drilled the Cubs managers right ear.
There was blood, but Sveum didnt need any stitches. He shrugged it off, like this sort of thing happens all the time. His ability to maintain equilibrium and laugh at the absurdity might be his greatest strength as a manager so far. You need that on the North Side.
The Cubs lost 101 games last season, including 38 after leading and 14 in the last at-bat. They went 15-27 in one-run games and 14-18 in two-run decisions. Theyre probably going to leave Nashville, Tenn., without making any huge moves this week.
To begin making up the difference in smaller ways, the Cubs think Carlos Marmol and Kyuji Fujikawa could work together in the back end of their bullpen.
The Cubs planned to meet with Marmols agent, Paul Kinzer, on Tuesday night at the Gaylord Opryland. General manager Jed Hoyer had already spoken with Kinzer since a trade to the Los Angeles Angels collapsed last month, and team president Theo Epstein has also reached out to Marmol.
We see Carlos as our closer, Hoyer said.
Sveum gave another strong vote of confidence for Marmol while welcoming another potential option for late-game situations. Sveum has watched video of Fujikawa and said the Japanese closer could pitch in the seventh, eighth or ninth inning.
Hes got that kind of stuff, Sveum said. That ability to do things with three and four different pitches just doesnt come around very often. He can setup. He can close, do anything he wants with the baseball. Hes got four quality pitches and can add and subtract with his fastball. (He) can get left-handers out, so he can pitch in any kind of situation.
Fujikawas two-year, 9.5 million deal is pending a physical and reportedly contains options for 2015. The Cubs could allow Fujikawa to acclimate to a new culture and let Marmol feel the heat at Wrigley Field.
If Carlos is on the team, he will be our closer, and I anticipate Carlos being here, Hoyer said. Anyone can be traded at any time. But as we put together our 2013 team, were certainly expecting him to be our closer.